Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! at the motorcross challenge center! watch monster trucks do AWESOME STUFF!!!! YEAAAGGAAHAGHAAAA

For the past two days, I have been working on my video project almost constantly. It's awesome, that's all I need to say about it. I haven't had the chance to really garden lately, although I did weed and water yesterday. I really like gardening, although planting things is most definitely the most fun. Weeding is pretty dull, and watering takes 5 minutes, so planting things is at the top of my gardening list. I don't know why it makes me feel so peaceful, especially because if I had been told to do it, I probably wouldn't enjoy it at all. It's a nice time to disengage from school, and I find that the next day I get a lot more work done at school, and don't have to do nearly as much at home. During this challenge, I read a book series of books that I wanted to read, something I haven't done in a long long time. I really enjoyed the extra time I felt I had when I spent a half an hour gardening rather than a half an hour watching TV or something.
Using only one glass was a good challenge, but it turned out to be really difficult when living with my family, who has had the mantra "put it in the dishwasher!" repeated over and over at them. I am now just keeping track of where my glass is, and if i can, I will pull it out of the dishwasher and use it again.
I haven't played any video games for two weeks, YEA! Chelsea didn't believe i could do it. This includes flash games at school, which I usually did during my ASCs. I think I will continue to stop my self from playing games at school, so that I don't have to come home and sit in front of the computer from 6 until 9.
I haven't eaten out, but I did buy some food at a convenience store a couple of times. I did only buy stuff when I was really hungry and wasn't going home for a while, so I was kinda proud of myself for this challenge.
Really proud of the quality of our music video so far, editing it today, wish me luck.

Tomato down!!!

This is a post for Thursday, I meant to post then, but forgot. On Thursday I had just gotten home from my frisbee game, and I went outside and started weeding the few tiny things popping up into my garden, its much easier to weed if you get the plants when they are small. While I was weeding I came across the destruction of one of my small tomatoes, It was utterly destroyed! I immediately thought to blame my sisters dog, but it turns out it was a cutworm, my mom could somehow tell what had killed it. So I planted a pepper nearby where my brave tomato plant had fallen. As for my other challenges, they are moving on smoothly, sorta. The single cup challenge is getting really difficult, but I am using the same cup more than once or twice, and keeping track of where I leave it, so I suppose that's progress. The no video game challenge is going fine, although my brother just bought a new game, and I really want to play, I think I can hold out until Monday though.
The no eating out challenge is probably the most difficult to define for me, I haven't gone to any restaurants or fast food places, but I have bought food at convenience stores. I'm not sure if this counts, but I will continue to think about whether or not buying a drink is eating out.

Ran out of room, just weeding.

Well, after planting 8 different tomatoes in my garden, I have run out of room to plant anything else. I kinda expected this to happen, but I wasn't really sure. I have kept up the weeding and watering, and so far, almost all of the visible plants look hearty and healthy. Holly keeps trying to dig up the lettuce, so keeping her out is a chore, but I think I can deal with it.
Haven't eaten out or played video games yet, but its hard to maintain 1 cup all day with people tossing it in the dishwasher every thirty seconds.

I'm enjoying the challenge and I think it has made me a little more aware of the energy I am using in my everyday life. To the naysayers and complainers I say, just because you can't get anything out of it doesn't mean the rest of us can't, so don't ruin it for us by b#8*hing about it all the time.

Cherry tomatoes take a lot of space

yesterday I didn't have the time to plant something. :( so i planted two different kinds of tomatoes today!
Here is an older pic of my garden.

Still moving along with the no video games challenge. The single cup challenge is getting a little harder, because they keep getting put in the dishwasher.
I haven't eaten out yet, so I think I'm doing well so far.

Turnips, or beets? they look the same

Yesterday, I took the last bits of ground cover out of the garden and tossed it into the compost. An old Lilac bush still had roots right underneath the soil, and if you've ever attempted to remove lilac roots, you'd know just how difficult they are to remove. I pulled them all out, and discovered a rhubarb plant that had survived in the corner of the garden. I think that it will do a little better now that it isn't suffocated with other plants. I planted two rows of beets, one over my potatoes and one behind my lettuce. The lettuce didn't do to well with the frost, but I'm hoping it will recover.
This week I discovered the enormous amount of extra time I have when I don't play video games or use facebook. I also haven't been doing homework at home, because I finish it school when I usually would be playing flash games or trying to avoid the Barracuda Filter.
I think I will walk away from this challenge knowing that just doing a few little things makes you conscious of other little things, and then you just snowball away in a giant mess of earthy-crunchy goodness. I don't feel guilty, simply doing a couple of little things really does make me feel good about myself.
If I was to share something with my classmates, I would want to share the joy of gardening. I don't want to say it's meditation, but it fits all the requirements. Gardening lets you do something that's not physically or intellectually difficult, but enjoyable for the soul.

Iriseseses

Yesterday, I continued my four challenges. Because of the Expo Night I didn't really have time to be tempted by videogames or anything, but I did find the time to plant a couple of irises in the garden. The lettuce appeared to have survived the frost, and the potatoes remained underground.
Over the past couple of days I have felt both peaceful and really busy, which was fun. The fast parts where actually school, and the slower and more enjoyable parts where actually the monotonous (but different) gardening bits.
I'm really enjoying the challenge so far, although I did buy an Arizona today, I don't know if that counts as eating out, but I really wanted it, and the can can be recycled.

Onions, Lettuces and Potatoes for credit

Yesterday, I stuck with my challenges. I only used one cup all day, and when it got thrown in the dishwasher, I stopped drinking with a cup. I didn't play any video games and as a result, found that I had a lot more time. I read part of a book that I wanted to read, for the first time in months, and didn't feel pressed for time.
In my garden yesterday I weeded for about an hour and pulled up some rather difficult ground cover my mom planted years ago. I didn't get very far into it, but I cleared a 4ft-2ft section and flipped it over with the pitchfork. I considered taking pictures of my garden yesterday, but the potatoes where the only things in there, and they where buried. I found some lettuce growing out of our compost pile, along with an onion, and so I transplanted them to my garden in a nice row behind my potatoes.
While I was doing all of this, my brother stretched and completed his Karate forms in the yard. It was an interesting contrast to watch him move through and imaginary fight, and to watch myself carry a small plant back to my garden. I wonder which will be more valuable in the future, the warrior or the farmer. Not to say that I am a farmer, or Thomas a warrior, but I do wonder what direction the world is headed in.
I enjoy the gardening more than anything school related I have done in years. I wish that there was a class that I could take, where for one hour, every day, I could garden and receive credit for it. I think that this idea might actually be possible, but I doubt anyone has the conviction or determination to make up a lesson plan, myself included. Maybe a sort of compilation could work, but others would have to get on board.

Planning to take pictures today, maybe plant some beans.

Po-ta-tos. Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew.

I'm enjoying this project so far, but I really wish that we didn't need to attend school for this challenge because I would feel comfortable being a little more extreme with my challenges. Because I have homework to complete for other classes, and I have to stay on top of the information for my China trip, I couldn't give up computers. I really enjoyed staying out in the woods and building our own shelter out of leaves and trees with Nick Mesloh and Zack Lapiere (CLIPPproductions Vimeo.com) even though it was freezing and a little bit miserable.
For this project I decided to change things in my life that I know I can change, and still get everything done that needs to be completed.

1. No video games (not at school, not at home, not at other's houses)
   
2. No eating out.
3. Use one cup every day.
4. Plant something every day.

Yesterday was the first day of this challenge, and after I got home from practice I walked out back and looked for space in my mom's garden for me to plant 14 things in for the next 2 weeks. I couldn't find any space there, so I turned to the overgrown "herb garden" that has been a haven for weeds for the past 2 years. I grabbed some gloves and a pitchfork from the shed and pulled out as many weeds as my patience would allow, and flipped over the rest. I didn't have the time or the energy to do the entire area in one sitting, but I spent about an hour and a half cleaning up a 3ft by 10ft area. I turned over the soil a couple of times, and carted the weeds to the compost pile.
My sister's puppy, Holly, helped me dig up some remaining roots from an old lilac bush that had been growing there, needless to say, she got all dirty. As I was working on the garden, I realized that for some reason, it didn't feel like work. I suppose this might have been because I needed a monotonous task to do for a little while after a busy day, but I am beginning to think that gardening is something people are meant to do. It felt good to get a little dirty, to actually touch and feel the plants and dirt we spend so much time here in school talking about. I planted some potatoes that where beginning to grow eyes, and sprayed some water from the hose onto the dry soil.
The other things on my list are valuable, but I don't particularly care about only using one cup a day, and I will miss playing video games, but its not a heart breaker. I don't go out to eat that often anyway, so that's not a loss either.
All in all, planting something every day is the most valuable part of this challenge for me, I think that doing this will actually give me satisfaction and actual substance to the reflections my teachers so desperately want.